Indie Designer Day

Designer: Christine Guest
Blog: Christine Guest Designs
Rav ID: ChristineGuest
Some Great Designs: Christine Guest's Rav Designer Page

Warm up with the fun designs of ChrsitineGuest!

First up, The Holly Mittens. I superlove the 3D holly. The berries are created though bobbles (created as you go) and the leaves are appliqued on afterwards.
They look so warm and cozy, and the holly keeps me thinking of Christmas without being totally Christmassy.

The Attelboro Sweater, a crocheted garment, utilizes two colours of yarn to highlight a pretty, lacy yoke and comfy long sleeved sweater. It's got a great story, too:

When I was a High School Student in the 1980’s, I wanted to make a cozy sweater that took the best of current fashion, and something a princess would wear while fighting along side Robin Hood.
Thankfully, what I got was this sweater.

Lastly, I'd like to point you all to the Herringbone Parallelogram Scarf.  A basic and attractive unisex pattern, this piece is written with the option of four different yarn weights. I love that idea! Why didn't I think of it before! Creating such a versatile yet simple pattern, and making it even more accessible to people by writing it up in a variety of weights. Fantastic!

Emerging from Holiday Slumber

I happen to love the wintery-religiousy-seculary- holidays.
It's the second best holiday-time of the year, with Thanksgiving and Halloween topping my list o' faves.
This year, though, Christmas has an edge because, let me tell you, my brother scored high points on the awesome-o-meter with his very surprise gift to me: knitting-themed mugs and tea pot!

Needless to say, it's been knitting mugs all the time over at my place.

I don't know where he bought them; he was a bit vague on where "in the mall" it was, so unfortunately I can't point ya'll in the proper direction to score these beautiful objects.
But I'll get it out of him. Oh yes. I will.

ETA: He bought them from Think Kitchen, and their brand is Stokes Porcelain. I'm sad to say a quick intertubes search this morning produced no results. I think all the knitters bought them up right away!

Elbie is Famous!; Or, Centrefold Bird

I have this unweildy habit of getting myself started on far too many crafty-type projects than one human should assume they can handle.

Over the holidays I decided it would be great fun to make myself a 2013 calendar.
Because really,
1) those art supplies from art school lo those embarrassingly-many years ago aren't going to use themselves!
2) where else, pray tell, can one find a calendar of one's pet, dressed up in amusing outfits? WHERE!?

Nowhere, that's where, except for the bizarre and often quite silly depths of my odd-duck imagination.

Forthwith I will be sharing these singularly amusing monthly images.

Here's the little feathered jerk in a pair of lederhosen.

HA! Take THAT Elbie! I put you in LEDERHOSEN! Mwuhahahaha! The internet is looking now! You have no place to hide, bitey bird!

(note to self: it may not be best for one's mental health to take personal vendetta against most beloved pet out on one's crafting blog.)

Indie Designer Day

© magic-photographer.com

Designer: Kamila Janiszewska
Blog: jan kamila knits
Rav ID: JanKamila
Some Great Designs: JanKamila's Rav Designer Page

In knitting, for me, imagination trumps elegance and color trumps consistency. I’m inspired by different stories, Polish folklore, striking color combinations, and… my stash - necessity can indeed often be the mother of invention.

This lovely quote comes from JanKamila's designer page, and I think it's a great introduction to her patterns.
And, which she says imagination trumps elegance, I think the two are very well intertwined in her aesthetic.

She currently has two published: Wintering (pictured) and the adorable Toothy (Wintering is to be worked up in a worsted version in the near future!)

Stories being an important aspect to her patterns, I was excited to learn that JanKamila is currently working on a longer sequence of patterns, of which Wintering and Persephone’s Plaits are both a part.
Check out Persephone's Plaits: it has the same warm, cozy feel as Wintering, great design with classic details.

You can see the same asethetic at work in Mori and Emi Mitts. Currently both are listed as finsihed projects; I have the inside scoop that they're the next designs to be worked up in to patterns!

Thistle Garden Cardigan: Lacy Zen Wonderland

I'm very happy to finally share with you a pattern I've been working on for the past few months.

The Thistle Garden cardigan is knit in Zen Yarn Garden's Serenity Worsted yarn. In fact, it was designed to be knit with this beautiful, glorious stuff.

or, purchase the kit from ZYG.
I'd never worked with ZYG before, but after having created this cardigan with it, Serenity Worsted has shot to the top of my favourite yarns list!
Just check out that colourway!

And seriously, even if you don't care for Thistle Garden, I recommend getting yourself at least one hank of Zen Yarn Garden's stuff. Just check out their site for your closest retailer.

Here's the details about the cardigan:

You don’t have to say good bye to lace in the cold weather! Thistle Garden will keep you warm and satisfy your desire for lace at the same time.
The worsted weight used in this pattern is worked up in a textural seed stitch, providing a comfortable and casual knit you’ll find yourself wearing throughout the chilly months.
Lace decorates the cuffs and front closure; the overlapping lace panel is unobstructed by buttons, and instead has two rows of snaps to fasten the cardigan.
Nearly seamless, the top down raglan design skims your body with waist shaping and 0 ease.
This pattern features both written and charted instructions for the lace.



Kit Information
The price per skein of Serenity Worsted is $32 but with your purchase of this kit, we are extending a 20% discount for the volume purchase for a price per skein of $25.60. The price per pattern is included in the kit price for $8 and will be sent to you via PDF attachment.
Skills Used
knitting in the round
seaming
simple lace
Yarn
Zen Yarn Gardens Serenity Worsted, 175 yd / 160 m per 100 g hank, 7 (7, 8, 9, 10, 11) hanks, colourway Dragonfruit
Needles
3.75 mm/#5 circular needles and double pointed needles
Gauge
18 sts and 24 rows to 4” / 10 cm in Seed Stitch Flat
18 sts and 28 rows to 4” / 10 cm in Thistle Lace Flat
Sizes
XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL) See Garment Schematic for finished garment measurements
29 (33, 37, 42, 45, 50)” / 73.5 (84, 94, 107, 114, 127) cm bust; this garment is designed with 0”/0 cm of ease. Choose the bust measurement which is within +/- 2” (5 cm) of your actual bust.
Notions
14 (14, 16, 16, 16, 16) snaps, approximately 0.5” / 1 cm across

Congratulations!

Quick post:

The Random Number Generator has spoken, and Nancy is the winner of the History on Two Needles ebook giveaway! Congratulations!

Nancy: I've given your name to the Cooperative Press, and they'll be gifting the ebook to your Rav account.

Happy solstice everyone! Watch out for the flying apocalyptic debris, though.

Book Review: History on Two Needles by Annie Modesitt

As readers of this wee bloggy might know, my daylight hours are spent as a museums professional; my degree in Art History & History is always pleased to be trotted out and put to some use.

So you can imagine that I was totally stoked when I first saw the new publication by Annie Modesitt and the wonderful Cooperative Press, History on Two Needles: exploring art history through modern handknits.

And then, even more so when I was approached to review it!


Full disclosure: I've been a fan of Modesitt's ever since my knitting days began, lo those seven odd years ago. Her Corset Tank Top is one of the first patterns I ever made twice, I loved it so.

So, herein lies my humble opinion on this accomplished designer's labour of love.

In the introduction, Modesitt reveals her long-time desire to create garments based on historical images, uniting her interests in history, art, and knitting.
Each of the seventeen patterns is accompanied by a handful of historic snippets, from the political and personal lives of storied royal and aristocratic figures to details about garment shaping, use, and manufacture.
With a Masters degree in Costume and Set Design, I can't think of who better to write a book on historical costuming and knitting patterns than Annie Modesitt!

One of the strengths of this book is in it's information regarding fashion history. Art's function in this book is as direct visual inspiration for the patterns, from the Ancient Snake Goddess with the impossibly corseted waist to the Woman in Red by Tissot (1864).
Modesitt takes you on a wonderful road from static garment images to vibrant (and in most cases) invitingly challenging knitwear, learning about historic fashion and garment design along the way.

Invitingly challening? Yes, indeed.

Check out what she does with novelty yarn in the beautiful Nottingham Hoyle Ruff.
I would wear this beauty in a heartbeat. I feel a bit shamefaced at any earlier anti-novelty yarn comments I may have made... That shows me!
Oh yes, and note in the same photo the beautiful colourwork hat, Admiral Anja. That's another on my list of faves.  I love the combination of texture and colour, and the fantastic functionality of an earflap hat.

Check out the Sutton Hoo Helm!  This is, in the designer's own words, "...a challenging knit, not to be taken on lightly!"

And I can't leave off this review without pointing out the very lovely and wearable Maiden Cape. In what I think is a stroke of total cleverness, this shoulder-hugging piece has built-in sleeves, to prevent it from slipping right off the wearer.
Clever and pretty!

So here's The Low Down
You will want to buy this book because:
-it has tidbits of costume-history, guiding its very interesting design
-you can purchase patterns individually, but really, $16.95 for all seventeen patterns? That's a steal!
(to receive both the print and digital copies, it's $26.95 + shipping)
-it has a vast amount of information for the knitter on how to read patterns
-it contains challenging knits, interesting techniques, and extremely unique patterns
-it contains a vast array of techniques and skills; from embroidery, beading, felting, bobbles, lace, zippers, colourwork (the list really does go on!

The folks at Cooperative Press have been kind enough to offer a giveaway of the digital copy of the book.
Comment on this post to enter: just please make sure to let me know your Ravelry ID, and which of the seventeen patterns from History on Two Needles would be your first to knit!
The giveaway will remain open until Thursday, December 20th.
The winner will be drawn with a Random Number Generator, and announced on the 21st.
Good luck!

Ghosts: A Subway Knits Interview!

Some of you may have noticed a couple weeks of missing Indie Designer Days, and for that I apologize. I had a death in the family, but am now resuming normal transmission.

That said...

I'm excited to announce that I've been interviewed on Subway Knits! You can listen to it here, and read the show notes here.

And really, if you don't already listen to Subway Knits regularly, you should add it to your podcast list. Maria is a fantastic podcaster! I love her show, and so was very happy when she agreed to do an interview with me :)

Happy faces all around! :)

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Coral Marion
Etsy Shop: Greasemoth fiber arts
Rav ID: greasemoth
Some Great Designs: greasemoth's Rav Designer Page

I love a designer with whimsy!

Greasemoth has but three(ish) designs currently published:

The pictured In the Clouds skirt caught my eye with its texture and colour changes.
I love that wide waist band and button closure.

Make sure to stop by her designer page and check out her tutorial for knitting or crocheting from the edge of fabric. There's several pictures of pieces created using this technique (offered for free!), including halter tops, skirts and hat brims.

She also has the Nefertiti Dreadlock Tam, a crocheted structural piece that would be able to make use of several beautifully coloured yarns.

New Pattern, Walk in the Leaves; Or, Help Support the SPCA

Today I've published a new pattern!

Walk in the Leaves are inspired by the best of seasons: autumn.
It was autumn when I went to the SPCA, and fell for the sweet, elderly dog Ellie.
Ellie lives at my parents' place, out in the country; she's a very happy dog who is sweet, intelligent, and enriches our lives. It was the many beautiful, crisp-autumn-day walks that I thought of while designing these little lacy legwarmers.

If it weren't for the local SPCA, she could have still been a stray dog, or perhaps even worse.

All proceeds from Walk in the Leaves will be donated to the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA. I (and all the critters!) thank you for your support.

Sizing: We all come in many sizes, and Walk in the Leaves contains instructions for you to customize the legwarmers to fit YOU just right. It is sized for a 14” leg circumference.

Knit in the round, these speedy accessories would make a great last minute gift!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Lily Kate France
Blog: joli house
Rav ID: lilykate
Some Great Designs: lilykate's Rav Designer Page
There's been a few instances where I've profiled very young designers on Indie Designer Days, but I think this week's takes the cake:

Lilykate is a very talented 14-year-old designer, who already has many wonderful published patterns both independently and in magazines! (her mom is also a designer! See her lovely work as well here).

Her aesthetic is lovely, every-day-wearable. See the pictured McKee shawl, her latest design. I love the unexpected little short-row shaping. It adds so much to a simple piece.

Alysha is a very pretty cherry-cable hat. Something I can see myself wearing all the time in the chilly weather.

Kentmere is a garter stitch cowl with a twist - quite literally! Another cool weather wardrobe staple, it was this piece that first caught my eye and made me want to profile lilykate.

Finally, I'd like to point you in the direction of Haslam, a unique and beautifully simple shawl/wrap, which makes use of the most basic of eyelets to great effect.

Because He Makes Me Smile; Or, Elbie the Reading Lovebird

A very speedy interlude today.
I found this picture hiding on my over-clogged, uber-foldered desktop.
It was taken this summer.
Aw, he thinks he's people!

PS: That's a great book we're reading.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Lisa Risager
Blog: the Nerdy kNitter
Rav ID: risager
Some Great Designs: risager's Rav Designer Page

This week's designer is part of the previously blogged about Artemis Adornments. Profiling all the designers in this group has been fun!

To show you some of risager's work...

Red Riding Hoodie, pictured here, has a lovely, subtle flare across the back that's just dreamy. I love the way she's manipulated this simple shape into something both causal and elegant.

The Open Source Shawl is another example of simple yet lovely design. The contrasting-colour edging makes this unique and beautiful.

The final piece I'll be pointing out is the suitably named November Slippers. This knit is the perfect project for this month. I feel cozy just looking at them!

Milk Maiden: Announcing Individual Downloads

I'm not sure how it's possibly been two years, but back in August 2010 one of my patterns was published in Brave New Knits.

With the end of this two year term I can now offer Milk Maiden for individual sale.

Just hop on over to Ravelry to download the pattern for $6.50 CAD.

Milk Maiden

Yarn

Blue Sky Alpaca Melange (110 y/100 m per hank), 7 (7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15) hanks, 100% Baby Alpaca, colourway Salsa

Needles

24” 2.75 mm/#2 circular needles

24” 3.25 mm/#3 circular needles

2.75 mm/#2 dpns

3.25 mm/#3 dpns                                                               

Gauge

5.5 sts and 8 rows/1” in stockinette stitch, unblocked

Sizes

XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL)

This sweater is designed with negative ease. Choose the size that is approximately 5” smaller than your actual bust measurement.

Skills Used

Grafting (Kitchener stitch)

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Paula Pereira
Blog: Peace, Knit, Love
Rav ID: NinaPaula
Some Great Designs: NinaPaula's Rav Designer Page

"I love designing accessories and garments, researching and studying about yarns and the perfect fit, with the same excitement that I admire and knit projects from other designers!"

Such a great outlook on designing! I think it comes through in her pieces.
The pictured Cadhla is one of my favourites. This adorable (and free!) shawl has one of those hallmarks of good design: the proper use of bobbles!

I'm also a fan of the Raaga Belted wrap. Check out how fun it looks! Very cozy too. I love the play of simple texture across this cardigan.

Many of her other designs are beautiful shawls; the lightweight Aura, and versatile Dalilah, in three sizes!

And if you like texture, check out Aimée Cowl.